Euro jumps as ECB increases stimulus

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The euro jumped to a 12-week high against the U.S. on Thursday after the European Central Bank increased the stimulus to boost economies hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

The ECB increased the size of its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP) to € 1.35 trillion ($ 1.52 trillion) from € 750 billion, more than the € 500 billion increase expected by most analysts, and extended it until June 2021 , with a promise to reinvest the proceeds until the end of 2022.

“This highlights the ECB’s commitment to boosting the recovery,” said Jai Malhi, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London. “The Eurozone may well emerge from the COVID-19 recession faster than the U.S. and UK.

The single currency EUR = last rose 0.21% on the day at $ 1.1256 after it previously reached $ 1.1273, the highest since March 12. It has won in eight consecutive sessions.

The Dollar Index = USD, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.18% on the day to 97.144.

The dollar has fallen over the past two weeks as risk sentiment improves and stocks increase with optimism that the worst of the economic downturn from the coronavirus has passed.

A stock pick, however, appeared to run out Thursday, though, with Wall Street opening lower.

U.S. data showed that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to less than $ 2 million last week for the first time since mid-March, but remains astonishingly high as companies adjust to an environment that has changed significantly from COVID- 19th

The dollar fell 0.15% against the safe Japanese yen JPY = to 108.72 yen, having previously gained to 109.16, the highest since April 7.

The Australian dollar AUD =, which has been one of the best performing results from the recent increase in risk appetite, dipped 0.4% to $ 0.6616, after reaching $ 0.683 on Wednesday, the highest since January. Third